Injured Taufeeq out of South Africa tour

Pakistan opener Taufeeq Umar has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa after failing to recover from a leg injury. Imran Farhat has been confirmed as his replacement.

"He [Taufeeq] has been advised four to five weeks rest by the doctors," a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. "The team management is sending him back and requested for a replacement."

Taufeeq had to sit out of the practice match in East London that ended on Monday and the decision to send him home was taken after the results of an MRI. Pakistan's team manager Naveed Akram Cheema confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Taufeeq did not train this week. Nasir Jamshed played in his place in the tour match and scored two half-centuries, which puts him in line to make his debut in the first Test in Johannesburg from February 1.

Taufeeq has played 43 Tests since making his debut in 2001 and scored 2943 runs at an average of 38.72. He's been part of the XI in Pakistan's previous 18 Tests, since they played South Africa in the UAE in November 2010. During this period, he scored three centuries and five half-centuries. He was also part of the squad that played two Tests in South Africa ten years ago and was Pakistan's leading run-scorer with 280 runs, including a century in Cape Town.

This season in first-class cricket, Taufeeq scored 377 runs from nine matches at an average of 22.17, with two half-centuries.

Its sad to see things panning out between the Pakistani and the Indian supporters. Its really about cricket and a good contest between Pakistan and South Africa and the whole world would like a good test series. If anything other takes place then it will be Pakistan at the receiving end... likely! I cant see Pakistan thrashing the Saffers; a 1-2 defeat for Pakistan would be a reasonable outcome too if the matches turn out to be competitive.

India has a better batting line-up to Pakistan's and that is to be accepted. Actually to be honest being better than Pakistan in batting is not really high praise. Pakistan's bowling is very good but getting the Saffers out is another proposition.

Why is there a need to belittle each other? Can't we delight in the successes of our neighbours? The sordid past need not be brought up particularly if the idea is not to learn but smirk. I want cricket to be a winner and for the two countries to improve their weaker areas fast!

Looking to peace!

KingKongIn
on February 1, 2013, 5:26 GMT

hahaha I couldn't stop laughing when I read UsmanMH comments he is too funny..!! what to say for him comments...I did not get any words so will wait untill first test finishes..will see teh performance of below avg african team (according to usmanMH) and world beater Pakistan team (according to UsmanMH).

Solid_snake : India already won a test series in ENG lolz (but you didn't know it I guess) this was only last series against ENG where we couldn't play well..otherwise our records are much better than yours in England. why you dont agree both India and Pakistan are medicore team outside the subcontinents. SA will crush Pakistan in this series you know this as well..why dont accept it..nothin is bad in that. SA is superior team right now...they are beating everyone..!!

Harmony111
on February 1, 2013, 5:01 GMT

@ekirmani: Ofc it doesn't make much sense. Why would it make sense when what you say is wrong? Sachin scored 118 vs Pak in 96 in Sharjah where India won the match. You must be extremely desperate now to somehow say anything substantial cos now you are resorting to use wrong facts to build your arguments. Has the inevitable decimation taken hold of you? Have you seen the fate of Pakistan team in SA huh? Well it is 0-3 with huge defeats in all the 3 matches - by innings perhaps.

ekirmani
on January 31, 2013, 22:01 GMT

LOL @ Harmony111 showing his nose up in a article where indians aren't even mentioned just to take a jab at Pakistan, guess the recent series loss AT HOME against Pak still keeping him up at night. And then he brings up a stupid fact senseless statistic of how Shoaib is not a match winner because every time he got Sachin out in ODI's pak lost the match, gee that's hilarious, the same argument can be made of how Sachin is not a match winner because every time he made a century against pak in ODI's, India lost. See how much sense that makes? :S

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 19:54 GMT

@getsetgopk: You are wrong on almost everything there. Ind were #1 only during the 1st 3 tests in the Eng tour after which Eng became #1 so most of your comment becomes pointless cos Ind never played the other 5 tests as #1. Secondly, it wasn't in succession. India also played WI in the interim. Thirdly, Eng cudn't even defend their #1 rank at home vs SA, losing 0-2 to them including one of the biggest Test defeats of all time while Ind went to SA as #1 and not only defended their #1 rank but also came close to winning the series there.

Pak is the ONLY TEAM EVER TO BE ALL OUT FOR <100 3 TIMES IN A MONTH, including twice in succession. They did this in Aug 2010. Nothing else done by any other team comes remotely close to this top class performance that Pak came up in August 2010.

davidatlas999
on January 31, 2013, 17:36 GMT

okay all indians think pakistan cant get one win in this tour and pakistan bowlers and batters are minnows it best.okay agree but i had a question for you guys if they did well then your prediction can you guys have guts to congrats them and say we are ashamed which we said earlier?
If they didnt played well am sure pak fans will eat them.but mellian doller question he they played good then?
Sorry for my poor english hope you guys get my point?

Sinhaya
on January 31, 2013, 16:25 GMT

@SK5983, you are wrong buddy. I am aware of other Pakistanis but certainly those 3 I said are promising for sure. Jamshed can open the batting in tests. Hafeez did well as an opener in the practice match so he may go opening in the first test and see. Key to Pakistani batting is surviving the new ball. No need to go for big shots. Regular singles will help to post a 300 plus total batting first which will be competitive and perhaps match winning.

sharidas
on January 31, 2013, 15:22 GMT

Pakistan has a good set of bowlers, and I certainly believe that they will do well. In batting their top four has to come out good, if they are to succeed in South Africa. Losing Taufeeq Umar before the tour has really started is unfortunate, but from what we have seen lately,Nasir Jamshed is really in good form and Imran Farhat has not been bad either. With Dav Whatmore most teams have done well in the past and lets hope for some good competitive Cricket.

Solid_Snake
on January 31, 2013, 15:19 GMT

@Harmony111->
Chosing Pak Last 3 tours of Australia & comparing it with the combined last 2 tours of India to Aus & England.What type of comparison is that..
Anyways lets see the overall performance..
Pak record in Australia 21-4...
India's record 26-5...
Infact if you add the last Pak vs Aus series which was a Draw in England..
One more Win against Australia outside Sub con..
Make it 22-5
For Pakistan to come down & level up with India,need one more 4-0 Trashing just like India suffered & then Both countries would become equal.But still Pakistan would be ahead with one less match played..But what if Pak manage to win a match lol

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 14:45 GMT

@jimmy2s: I am talking about Pak's impending doom in this series so all that I say is completely relevant. Pity you can't figure it out. And with due respect to SA, they just got thrashed at home by the Kiwis and could win the 3rd ODI only off the very last ball so you may want to keep a bit quiet about who got thrashed where.

I also hope that you would rather give this advice of moving elsewhere to various nefarious Pak fans who kept coming in the Ind-Eng forum to say nasty things about everything India did. Thus no one should really cry buckets now if they get paid back.

javed.agrawala
on January 31, 2013, 7:41 GMT

Its sad to see things panning out between the Pakistani and the Indian supporters. Its really about cricket and a good contest between Pakistan and South Africa and the whole world would like a good test series. If anything other takes place then it will be Pakistan at the receiving end... likely! I cant see Pakistan thrashing the Saffers; a 1-2 defeat for Pakistan would be a reasonable outcome too if the matches turn out to be competitive.

India has a better batting line-up to Pakistan's and that is to be accepted. Actually to be honest being better than Pakistan in batting is not really high praise. Pakistan's bowling is very good but getting the Saffers out is another proposition.

Why is there a need to belittle each other? Can't we delight in the successes of our neighbours? The sordid past need not be brought up particularly if the idea is not to learn but smirk. I want cricket to be a winner and for the two countries to improve their weaker areas fast!

Looking to peace!

KingKongIn
on February 1, 2013, 5:26 GMT

hahaha I couldn't stop laughing when I read UsmanMH comments he is too funny..!! what to say for him comments...I did not get any words so will wait untill first test finishes..will see teh performance of below avg african team (according to usmanMH) and world beater Pakistan team (according to UsmanMH).

Solid_snake : India already won a test series in ENG lolz (but you didn't know it I guess) this was only last series against ENG where we couldn't play well..otherwise our records are much better than yours in England. why you dont agree both India and Pakistan are medicore team outside the subcontinents. SA will crush Pakistan in this series you know this as well..why dont accept it..nothin is bad in that. SA is superior team right now...they are beating everyone..!!

Harmony111
on February 1, 2013, 5:01 GMT

@ekirmani: Ofc it doesn't make much sense. Why would it make sense when what you say is wrong? Sachin scored 118 vs Pak in 96 in Sharjah where India won the match. You must be extremely desperate now to somehow say anything substantial cos now you are resorting to use wrong facts to build your arguments. Has the inevitable decimation taken hold of you? Have you seen the fate of Pakistan team in SA huh? Well it is 0-3 with huge defeats in all the 3 matches - by innings perhaps.

ekirmani
on January 31, 2013, 22:01 GMT

LOL @ Harmony111 showing his nose up in a article where indians aren't even mentioned just to take a jab at Pakistan, guess the recent series loss AT HOME against Pak still keeping him up at night. And then he brings up a stupid fact senseless statistic of how Shoaib is not a match winner because every time he got Sachin out in ODI's pak lost the match, gee that's hilarious, the same argument can be made of how Sachin is not a match winner because every time he made a century against pak in ODI's, India lost. See how much sense that makes? :S

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 19:54 GMT

@getsetgopk: You are wrong on almost everything there. Ind were #1 only during the 1st 3 tests in the Eng tour after which Eng became #1 so most of your comment becomes pointless cos Ind never played the other 5 tests as #1. Secondly, it wasn't in succession. India also played WI in the interim. Thirdly, Eng cudn't even defend their #1 rank at home vs SA, losing 0-2 to them including one of the biggest Test defeats of all time while Ind went to SA as #1 and not only defended their #1 rank but also came close to winning the series there.

Pak is the ONLY TEAM EVER TO BE ALL OUT FOR <100 3 TIMES IN A MONTH, including twice in succession. They did this in Aug 2010. Nothing else done by any other team comes remotely close to this top class performance that Pak came up in August 2010.

davidatlas999
on January 31, 2013, 17:36 GMT

okay all indians think pakistan cant get one win in this tour and pakistan bowlers and batters are minnows it best.okay agree but i had a question for you guys if they did well then your prediction can you guys have guts to congrats them and say we are ashamed which we said earlier?
If they didnt played well am sure pak fans will eat them.but mellian doller question he they played good then?
Sorry for my poor english hope you guys get my point?

Sinhaya
on January 31, 2013, 16:25 GMT

@SK5983, you are wrong buddy. I am aware of other Pakistanis but certainly those 3 I said are promising for sure. Jamshed can open the batting in tests. Hafeez did well as an opener in the practice match so he may go opening in the first test and see. Key to Pakistani batting is surviving the new ball. No need to go for big shots. Regular singles will help to post a 300 plus total batting first which will be competitive and perhaps match winning.

sharidas
on January 31, 2013, 15:22 GMT

Pakistan has a good set of bowlers, and I certainly believe that they will do well. In batting their top four has to come out good, if they are to succeed in South Africa. Losing Taufeeq Umar before the tour has really started is unfortunate, but from what we have seen lately,Nasir Jamshed is really in good form and Imran Farhat has not been bad either. With Dav Whatmore most teams have done well in the past and lets hope for some good competitive Cricket.

Solid_Snake
on January 31, 2013, 15:19 GMT

@Harmony111->
Chosing Pak Last 3 tours of Australia & comparing it with the combined last 2 tours of India to Aus & England.What type of comparison is that..
Anyways lets see the overall performance..
Pak record in Australia 21-4...
India's record 26-5...
Infact if you add the last Pak vs Aus series which was a Draw in England..
One more Win against Australia outside Sub con..
Make it 22-5
For Pakistan to come down & level up with India,need one more 4-0 Trashing just like India suffered & then Both countries would become equal.But still Pakistan would be ahead with one less match played..But what if Pak manage to win a match lol

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 14:45 GMT

@jimmy2s: I am talking about Pak's impending doom in this series so all that I say is completely relevant. Pity you can't figure it out. And with due respect to SA, they just got thrashed at home by the Kiwis and could win the 3rd ODI only off the very last ball so you may want to keep a bit quiet about who got thrashed where.

I also hope that you would rather give this advice of moving elsewhere to various nefarious Pak fans who kept coming in the Ind-Eng forum to say nasty things about everything India did. Thus no one should really cry buckets now if they get paid back.

getsetgopk
on January 31, 2013, 14:26 GMT

Harmony111: Give it a rest, 3 tours spread accross what 12 years and back to back white washes resulting in 0-8 is simply not comparable. The 0-8 is a very unique feat I must say, for one, it has never been achieved in the entire history of test cricket, 2ndly the time it took India to achieve it was really short, a year or so. Another beauty of the 0-8 feat is that it was achieved in an era when India had supposedly the best batting lineup known to man kind. It also happened when India was the so called world top ranked team. No world no 1 team has ever been whitewashed on consecutive away tours, we WW England but they won a test in SL on their next tour so India hold that record too which indirectly suggest that the ICC ranking is a farce and India never were the no 1 team. And of course there are other aspects of the 0-8 feat which I will share with you if really necessary. Pak has been the most successful test team SC has ever produced, 2nd best is SL, India doesn't feature, cheers

wrenx
on January 31, 2013, 14:19 GMT

@Harmony111 can you please stop talking about India? This article article has nothing to do with India, it's about Pakistan and South Africa, two teams that actually have something going for them in Test Cricket. Pakistan have just taken their turn at thrashing India in their backyard and are now off to play some real cricket, why don't you worry more about who India will be hosting next to extend their losing streak?

Solid_Snake
on January 31, 2013, 13:46 GMT

@Harmony111->What sort of comparison is that.You picking up Indian last tour vs last 3 tours of Pakistan Hahaha...If you are so interested in old records then there you go..40-5 overall result..Wow what a great record against Australia.I am impressed.Talking so high & mighty but look at the record.Pak record is bad as well but no fan says that we are good in Australia.Team India was not in a bad shape in last tour.Infact Team always was in such a shape while in Austalia.Never won a series there yet talking as if the result was 5-40

heartbreakerz
on January 31, 2013, 12:57 GMT

Pakistan have d 3rd best winning ratio in South Africa..(after aus n eng) so all d those indian guys out there...u have no right to criticise us bcoz we have done better than your team

MFNadeem
on January 31, 2013, 11:29 GMT

@Cric_Janbaz: If you talk about domestic, then there at least one dozen better players than Farhat. Why don't they get selected. Come on man, everyone knows why...!!!

Solid_Snake
on January 31, 2013, 11:18 GMT

@KingKongIn->We already visited England..Our record is not like India's great record in England.We played 6 matches..Won 2 & lost 4..How is India's 8-0 better than this?Our Series was a 1-1 draw with Australia..So according to you Pak will lose to SA 3-0..Add these 3 matches in it..Still Pak record is better.A win is better than a Bluewash any day :P.

usmanHM
on January 31, 2013, 11:13 GMT

@Grievest_Gang...listen..It wont make difference whether u believe or not. Note it, Kallis days are over despite his previous years performances. If you believe in statistics, Ricky ponting and Sachin were the greatest, but in last few series they were out of sorts. Kakllis will score only 1 score of over 50 but smith couple maximum. AB is a joke. Steyne is just a hype. Amla and yes Faf will give tough time to our team. I know Kallis has more wickets than all pakis in the squad, but Kapil has more wickets than Kallis, so should India call him back. Note it again and find some place to hide urself as u will understand after first test match, what is the difference between looking mediocre and performing on the field. Pakistan is not Newzealand or deteriorated Aussie team. Pakistan in last couple of years thrashed england, india, sri-lanka, and drawn with Saffers. So, dont go on statistics, show some sense to realize that Past is past and performing on the field is different.

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 10:39 GMT

Don't the Pak fans know that their team has lost 0-3, 0-3 & 0-3 in Australia last 3 times? That makes it 0-9 and spread over 3 diff tours where 3 diff Pak teams would have played. Clearly, it shows just how poor Pak are as a test playing nation. India were going through a bad phase at when their away losses happened but look at Pak - they lose and they lose badly every time they go there.

So each time a Pak fans says India 0-8 he should remember that his own team is 0-9 plus his team's W/L ratio in ODIs since 1st Jan 2010 is not even HALF of what India's ratio is not counting matches vs BD/Zim. Btw, India's W/L ratio is the best since 1st Jan 2010 not counting BD/Zim matches.

Kiwirocker: Pak 0-9 in Aus, no one can beat that sort of humiliation. You talk of your own twisted opinions, I talk of facts.

KingKongIn
on January 31, 2013, 10:03 GMT

KiwiRocker : dont worry, let tour to eng, Aus and SA, PAK will also have same records. you are already saying for 3-0 thrashing of Pak in SA.so please let us know how Pak 0-3 (0 win 3 loss) will be better then Inida's 10-3 (10 loss 3 wins) ,have you not studied mathematics ?? lolz !! on serious note-- India team was already strugling so dont evaluate Junaid and Irfan on the basis of performance against India.

KiwiRocker-
on January 31, 2013, 9:23 GMT

The difficulty Pakistani selectors have is that they can only select players based on domestic performance and lets be honest, Farhat has done well doemsticlaly. However, I am quite dispapointed that Pakistani selectors have not seen the bigger picture and selected a fine youngster like Khurram Manzoor. I had seen Khurram playing last time when Pak toured Australia and his 77 was very fine knock. Khurram is one of technically correct Pakistani batsmen. I hope he is not wasted like Asim Kamal who had 8 fifties in 12 test matches including wonderful knocks in Australia against India in tough conditions. Harmony111 : You have started to sound more and more frustrated. Natationalism is good thing but hate should not take over. Junaid Khan is young bowler who single handedly destroyed much famed Indian batting. You are jumping that he did not do something special in practice match? Lets assume Pakistan loses 3-0 but still would be better than India's 10 defeats in last 13 tests!Get a Job!

KingKongIn
on January 31, 2013, 9:13 GMT

Harmony111--You are sopt on mate, rightly said !! I want to laugh on usmanHM who says kalis and Smith are walking wicket, deviliors is below average and top of it Steyn is highly over rated..infact pak bowling attack is highly overrated , don't know why there is so much fuss about it.. I agree Ajmal is a world class bowler he will give challenge to SA batsman in these condition as well...but others..don't think so. I predict this series win to SA 3-0 or 2-0

Harmony111
on January 31, 2013, 8:13 GMT

@usmanHM: I really really really loved reading your comment. I couldn't figure out if you were being sarcastic or were you really serious - that is height of literature from you there. I would say that From Amla, Kallis, Smith & ABD - Pak may find it diff to get out just 2 of them. And hell yeah Steyn is over rated - but your Junaid Khan indeed is World Class right? We saw how your Junaid Khan did in the practice match.

@haq33: I had actually wished Pak well for this tour but seeing the way some of you want to paint Ind negatively and make fun of our #1 Rank, WC title and win vs Eng then I felt may be I dont need to be that sporting, esp with Pakistan. In any case we all know what is going to happen. I am saying that we will see the lowest test score ever this series by Pak - in single digits.

You think SA's 60+ average batting can't handle Pak bowling? Pak has 3 of the top 20 bowlers, only 1 a pace bowler. Pak bowling on pacy wickets is Umar Gul, no.20, Junaid no. 37, Hafeez no. 56 & the new guys! Kallis has more wickets that the entire Pak team. Lol.

SA has the world's top 2 bowlers & 3 of the top 10, all pace, against 1 top batsman - Younis Khan.

What? You think spin bowling will decide the series? Dream on.

Cric_Janbaz
on January 31, 2013, 7:59 GMT

@Kwaja8 i agree imran farhat is an average player but he gets selected because he scores runs at domestic level,he doesn't ask selectors to select him...

LEOFURQAN86
on January 31, 2013, 7:50 GMT

if pakistan is weak team then which team is strong last 2 years pakistan performanc in test....... winning series in newzeland in thier ground... draw test series against so called strong side SA .... beat srilanka by 2-0 ... 3-0 white wash to No 1 that time england..... winning ODI series in india nearly white wash them in their home ground.....winning asia cup..... that is weak team..... pakistan hardly lost in last 2 years .... compare to all other sides even your so called strong team SA lost against Newzeland in home ground by 2-1 and lost all game super eight games in T-20 World cup..... which team perform better then pakistan over all in last 2 years.... and please don't talk england , india and aussies they lost so many series and cup in last 2 years.....

tests_the_best
on January 31, 2013, 4:41 GMT

My prediction for this series is 2-1 to SA. Somehow subcontinental teams have performed better in SA than Aus in recent times. Each of Pak, Ind, SL got whitewashed on their last tours to Aus. But Ind managed 1-1 last time in SA and SL lost 1-2. Somehow SA are vulnerable on their own tracks against even a decent bowling attack. All that opposition teams need to do is bundle SA out for a low 125-150 score in 1 out of 6 innings and one test is in the bag. Pak bowling seems quite capable of that but considering how weak Pak batting is in these conditions, they might not be able to win more than one. Should be an interesting series.

khawaja8
on January 31, 2013, 4:31 GMT

Imran Farhat's inclusion in place of Taufeeq Umer is some thing which i cannt understand. He is an average ODI player with very mediocre record. It was very good opportunity to try out some new players instead. How many years will our selectors take to replace the senior players?? I think they should take a leaf out of books of Australia & SriLanka.

CricketChat
on January 30, 2013, 23:54 GMT

Nasir Jamshed has been in top form, scoring hundreds at good rate. He seems like a cool customer at the crease belying his inexperience. I am sure he will fit the opener bill perfectly for Pak. Good luck to him.

witchking
on January 30, 2013, 23:02 GMT

I can only hear noise from all around and people fighting .But tomorrow the best series of 2013 will begin.The only thing i can hear is chin music.Helmets will be shattered wickets will be splintered. And when the dust will settle out of the ashes shall rise a team who will be worthy of the crown.

usmanHM
on January 30, 2013, 21:52 GMT

HARAMIMONY 111
I bet only Amla will show resistance. Our teams's score of 200-250 will look like 500. Don't forget Umar Gul, Irfan, Junaid and the best of all, Saeed Ajmal. BTW, we don't need ur support at all. You will see how Saffers even reach 1100 score. Styen will only be showing aggression but he cannot uproot this mediocre looking pakis batting as they know to deliver in tough times and conditions. Philander is good in first 10 overs.
don't forget england series in Dubai. Its not abt big names, its about the performance. This is not Newzealand team. Again I would say, u seem tired, have a good sleep before u catch some tough times in next couple of days.

screamingeagle
on January 30, 2013, 20:29 GMT

mazii, draw 1-1 and then you can say you did as well as India. I am talking only of SA, that was the result. When you go to Eng and Aus then you can benchmark against the 4-zip scores, not for this one. Just saying.

Dannymania
on January 30, 2013, 19:54 GMT

yeah, taufeeq has been a great asset in Pakistan's post-spot fixing flick but he hasn't been in a good form at all lately. He hasn't played that well at all in the domestic circuit and so the authorities were worried about giving him a chance. Anyways, whether he is unfit or not is a totally different issue. The fact of the matter is, that he could've been adjusted in the test team only in place of Asad Ali. Asad Ali has the ability but he isn't in a good nick either. Lets hope he does well. Nasir Jamshed deserved a whole series after his batting displays whenever he has played.. Azhar Ali, younis khan and misbah have their work cut out..

sdpervez
on January 30, 2013, 19:52 GMT

I am not going to read much in to the comments here or give a predictions myself, however my support is all for pakistan and inshaAllah they will do well, the problem is a lot of teams underestimate the current pakistani team and thats been working in their favour so lets hope the men in green give us a pleasant surprise again just like the england series. GO PAKISTAN !!

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 19:29 GMT

People are still talking about Taufeeq Umar in the playing eleven. I expect the following XI.

they should bring Fawad Alam instead of opener because we already have two openers Hafeez and Nasir. Fawad is performing better than Farhat. and instead of Sarfraz we PCB should bring Muhammad Rizwan.

QingdaoXI
on January 30, 2013, 19:15 GMT

@Sinhaya i think you only know these 3 names from Pakistan cricket, ibecuase every time you write acomment in Pakistan related forum i have seen you only mentioning this three name, n that case Babar is too young and others Hammad and Usman were failure in there limited chance and have too prove more, but my one question to pakistani friends is there is no other opener in Paksitan other than Imran Farhat, he is failed guys in whatever opportunities he have received. PCB should have send new opener who is averaging good in domestic cricket may be for last three years and also is matured i.e. around 26-27 year old. As i think Hafeez will be the failure in these conditions and will be walking wicket like Gambhir is now a days for India too South African pace trio.

KarachiKid
on January 30, 2013, 19:10 GMT

@spellbinder76 : spot on. Pakistan need solidity in middle order and even lower order as the tail starts after Sarfaraz Ahmed who himself is yet to prove his proficiency at number 7.

spellbinder76
on January 30, 2013, 18:59 GMT

Pakistan needs help in the middle order not the opening batsmen. All the middle order have similar technique, slow and defensive. They need to send in Mohammad Yousuf as a replacement.

after toufeeq leg injury we have got the only choice of opener who have got some experience.... that was imran farhat... undoubdetely he was much tried and tested failure for the team..but pcb has got the only choice in the team... he is performing well in domestic president and quiad e azam trouphy...well hope for the best...

on January 30, 2013, 18:20 GMT

Everyone who is commenting tough tour for Pakistan and predicting a white wash by SA must also keep in mind that in year or two Pakistan has not been able to play quality Test Cricket outside Asia.They are deprived of playing quality cricket with quality teams in quality conditions. Even then they are considered a force to reckon with having some quality raw talent. Only tests they have played are in UAE/Srilanks on flat tracks and even one day cricket is played in Indian Subcontinent/UAE. This situation can go against any team in the world and it would be very natural if Pakistan does not perform well in SA. Any team can fell flat in these challenging situation. I feel that ICC and PCB should seriously plan more tests for Pakistan outside Pakistan.
Even then I firmly believe that it will be a good series and SA can get taste of their own medicine in their own backyard

PakoP
on January 30, 2013, 17:55 GMT

If Pakistan Takes ALL CATCHES on this tour, they will win it. no worries about Batting or bowling, just DO NOT give South African batsmen 2-3 chances.

burhank4666
on January 30, 2013, 17:37 GMT

selection of imran farhat and faisal iqbal is based purely on merit ,, because both are very famous domestic cricketers and have scored lots of runs in recent domestic season,,,,,,,,,,,,, but i think they might not get chance because we have on bench "Haris Sohal" ,,, the domestic batsman of the year ,,,, the man who has highest average in firs class (53.00), he truly deserve a chance

on January 30, 2013, 17:33 GMT

Guys just relax... Imran Farhat is just a replacement... He cannot play test cricket. Some of my friends here have commented on how badly pakistan will perform and "they can't wait to see the Mazaa". Well my freinds pakistan will do just fine... i think you guys should worry about your performance with Austraila. Pakistan beat India in India... whatelse can i say? Just everyone the best and will do the same.

PkZindabaad
on January 30, 2013, 17:22 GMT

Not good at all? We are going for a whitewash. My only hope is for nasir and Junaid khan. Why they still persist with Imran Farhat is beyond my imagination. We shouldn't have go for this tour at all. Lets hope some relief may come from fast bowlers.

WeeBee
on January 30, 2013, 17:15 GMT

hmmm sad! but i am not in favor of picking imran Farhat for the job. welli think Nasir is good enough to face the challenge & imran would just sit on bench.

Cricket_Master_Mind
on January 30, 2013, 17:07 GMT

He is going for just a formality. He will not get a chance to play in tests, RARE
He will sit and watch cricket in south Africa. Because Misbha will not select him in final 11

Syed_imran_abbas
on January 30, 2013, 17:02 GMT

Not a good news.. he was doing a great job for Pakistan.. And the replacement is not a worthy at all. I hope imran farhat and faisal iqbal dont get a chance to play. both do not deserve to be in squad.

Toescrusher
on January 30, 2013, 16:59 GMT

Loosing Taufeeq is not a big lose and getting Farhat is not a big gain. Calling Farhat means touring management is under pressure and they ran out of idea. Since too many chances were given to Farhat and this time cricket fans will suffer watching him again? On merit Ahmed Shezad and Kamran Akmal qualify for the opening position if not then some one new should have been a better use of this tour and for the future investment for grooming the opener. Traditionally great Pakistani batsmen came from Karachi; for scoring 300 plus runs in the second inning PCB needs to start supporting and giving more chances to batsmen from Karachi - it is important to mention here that batsman from Lahore and its vicinity are great for the shorter version of the game.

Sinhaya
on January 30, 2013, 16:53 GMT

Actually this is a great opportunity for Pakistan to give Usman Salahuddin, Babar Azam or even Hammad Azam the chance to cash in. Looking forward to an exciting test series.

hsn.hamid
on January 30, 2013, 16:52 GMT

That's a bad news for Pakistani batting line-up but i am sure they will still do well under Misbah's leadership skills as a captain.They have talented batsmen who can do wonders on their day.

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 16:35 GMT

This is the dirtiest replacement that the shameless PCB could come up with. Faisal Iqbal is the other one who should not have been in the team. How many more opportunities will this guy get. How many more matches Pakistan will have loose before they select some good players.

.

khurramsch
on January 30, 2013, 16:31 GMT

not so good for pakistan as he was experienced opener and yes nasir looks good in odis but nasir hasnt toured anywhere out side Asia/UAE. its his test debut as well as his debut in somewhere other than Asia.

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 16:23 GMT

@ bijuphilip :

You may have seen that Misbah had dropped Umar Akmal for the first two ODI's. He was right. Umar Akmal has proved to be a failure accross all formats. Even in the one day format he has never won a single game for his team. In sharp contrast Virat Kohli has been a big success in the ODI & T20 formats. Virat has won many games for his team single handedly. He also got a century in very testing conditions in Australia. Virat is a big talent. Probably the next Tendulkar.

farhan4050
on January 30, 2013, 16:12 GMT

Guys Guys, there is no way Imran Farhat is getting a chance. Bet me. It's just for a back-up. Even unlikely if one of the openers get's injured, then Azhar Ali is the one who's goona open and Haris Sohail will be in. Azhar Ali has already opened for his domestic teams and recently against Sri Lanka in which he was mighty impressive. So calm down!

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 16:06 GMT

This is a typically Asian problem.

Even Jamshed was delayed purposely by the PCB because they wanted to give more and more opportunities to Imran Farhat inspite of his repeated failures.

.

Faridmalek
on January 30, 2013, 16:06 GMT

Politics politics and politics, tufeeq making way for Imran farhat I would like to see that MRI report ......

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 16:03 GMT

@ ZAB2121 :

You are not alone there. Even my blood pressure goes high when I see Imran Farhat's name in the squad. But he is the son-in-law of Mohameed Ilyas who was the chief selector earlier. Maybe Ilyas still commands some clout in the selection process.

But the good news is that Jamshed is doing well and the no.3 spot is held tightly by Azhar Ali. So prabably Farhat will have to sit on the bech. At the most he will enjoy a trip to South Africa at the cost of the PCB. ditto about Faisal Iqbal who is a relative of Javed Miandad.

Harris Sohail is the other younster who is quite promising. Should there be an opening he should get an opportunity. With a batting average of over 50 in firt class matches, he should do well.

.

usmanHM
on January 30, 2013, 16:00 GMT

@Harmony111
Results would be the same as they were between Pakistan and England in series in Dubai. Amla is the only batsman who will show some grit. Smith and Kallis are walking wickets. AB below average. They can't survive more than two sessions. Pakis are underdogs and they were against england and India in recent series. So don't get excited by by looking at the past, Saffers will be thrashed in tests. By getting wickets against some deteriorating teams, steyn is highly over rated. have a good sleep before u face a reality.

Fast_Track_Bully...if India can win a test in sa with their avg batting, poor bowling n below avg fielding then surely Pakistan can also win as they are much better than your ind team

Behind_the_Wicket
on January 30, 2013, 15:44 GMT

Why people you want new & young players in the Pak team let them cross 30 then selectors will observe their skills,Funny selectors..

Smahuta
on January 30, 2013, 15:10 GMT

@BattosaiXX I hope you are joking about 250? Maybe you meant 550? If not the4 good luck trying to win a test match here. The pakistam attack is inexperienced in SA conditions and if they dont know what length to bowl then they will get tapped for a lot of runs very quickly. What usually happens is the pace bolwers get excited because tjhey have some bounce to work with and they bowl too short as if playing at home and get hammerd to all parts.

Smahuta
on January 30, 2013, 15:04 GMT

Oh dear, not good for Pakistan. They will need an experienced solid opener here if they want to do well. While Jamshed looks a good player in ODI's this will be his test debut which will be a very different matter. I do remember Phil highes having a good debut here though where he thrashed the SA bowlers around for a good hundred. That may be the way to play here for Jamshed as it does suit his style of play. (ie he likes to play his shots)

ICCexpert....
on January 30, 2013, 14:51 GMT

Imran Farhat is a joke, how many chances will his father in law Ilyas give him ? What about Sharjeel khan and Ali Waqas. when will they get a chance ? I think with this PCB set up they will never get a chance.

Naseer_shah
on January 30, 2013, 14:50 GMT

Imran Farhat again ......... The one reason why Pakistan team suffering in batting is due to favoritism ...He is in and out of the team for 10 years nearly .... They didn't find one single opener to replace imran farhat .......

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 14:43 GMT

Presently the playing XI is seteled for Pakistan. That is to say that the same eleven that played in the practice match will play the 1st test match. So It does not mattter if the same old Farhat has been sent by the PCB. But i do wish that later on if there is an opportunity for any other youngster to play then I hope it will be Haris Sohal and not Imran Farhat.

With an average of over 50 in first class matches, he surely deserves an early opportunity.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/318788.html

.

ZAB2121
on January 30, 2013, 14:32 GMT

@malik-muhammad-basit: Haris may be better Asad but its not a time to compare or give a chance to test debutant. We have seen Asad so lets hope he does what he is supposed to do.

Am I the only one whos blood pressure goes high when I see Imran Farhats name?

S.Alis
on January 30, 2013, 14:29 GMT

I don't understand why team management is asking for replacement and suggested Imran Farhat? Didn't Nasir Jamshed playing on his place and did well in the practice match? If anything Pakistan need is someone good in the middle order. I'm worried about Azhar Ali performance and his technique against swing bowling. If he can't perform in the first test, then bring in someone else in the middle order, not imran farhat please.

BattosaiXX
on January 30, 2013, 14:19 GMT

we are happy with 250 because our batting line-upe is poor. Adding Imran Farhat to it make it 220.

psychocric
on January 30, 2013, 14:19 GMT

Its gonna be an interesting contest both teams are playing together after long time so let c!

ahtasham.rvj
on January 30, 2013, 14:07 GMT

Enough about Azhar Ali ...He is the most promising batsman Pakistan has found in the recent past with sound temparament and technique...he is the most successful batsman in the recent past for Pakistan ..Above all he has the most important consistency to his credit which most Asian batmen lack...he has also performed in seeming tracks too..and he will surely be the impact batsman in this tour too....good luck pakistan and best of luck Azhar...( your die heart fan)>..

malik-muhammad-basit
on January 30, 2013, 13:45 GMT

harris sohail is not only a good t20 cricketer.he is the best in all formats.and franckly speaking he is better then asad shafiq.if their is any doubt you can check his stats.and harris sohail had top batting average in president trophy.where he scored 673 runs in 5 matches at an average of 134.60 including 4 hundreds and 2 fifties.and he was not out in 4 innings.so you cant say that he is only a t20 player.he knows how to stay at the wicket as he is mostly notout in his innings.asad shafiq is good but not as good as haris sohail.so i wish he whould be given a chance this time.bcoz he is the best batsman i think in our domestic cricket

MFNadeem
on January 30, 2013, 13:38 GMT

I'm surprised to even notice that Taufique, if fit, would have been playing in the upcoming test match at the expense of Nasir Jamshed. I thought, Jamshed is the first choice opener in all formats, and deservedly so.

on January 30, 2013, 13:36 GMT

@Behind-the-wicket That's b/c these faces put pakistan on 4th place in tests in just two years.With these players Pakistan has managed to get best win percentage in last two years.This is only due to stability in test selection.We hpe that selectors will provide stability in odi and t20 selection to get such good results.

Nigah
on January 30, 2013, 12:52 GMT

I don't know why fans always try to ruined Pakistan? and praising RSA. Look every day is a new day and every game is a new game who will win no one know right at the moment. Just enjoy the game of cricket. The same scenario has been happened before when Pakistan was going to face England in 2012, all knows what was happens at the end of the series?

KingUzzy
on January 30, 2013, 12:46 GMT

Based on his performance in SL and with Nasir Jamshed playing so well, he would have sit out anyway as Azhar Ali is too valuable player to be dropped after just one bad performance that too in a tour match.

That said, Hope he recovers in time as he is a gritty player and we might need him in remaining two tests.

Sports4Youth
on January 30, 2013, 12:37 GMT

Re : concerns about Haris Sohail getting an opportunity.

I am in favor of Haris Sohail getting an opportuntiy. And I am also sure that he will get a few appotunities soon, just like Nasir Jamshed. And once he gets his opportunity then it is upto him to ensure that he makes full use of it.

.

Behind_the_Wicket
on January 30, 2013, 12:35 GMT

I am very surprised about our selectors why they always select the same faces in every time.It's mean we are lack of talent or our policy is only stay with oldies.Misbah , Younas , Azhar ,Asad Shafiq , Sarfraz or Adnan Akmal , What the reason is they are always part of the team even they perform good or bad , we don't have any kind of replacement? you will see Haris Sohail , Ehsan Adil , Rahat Ali will not get chance in this test series.from me , best of luck but it is hope against hope.

qfriend2
on January 30, 2013, 12:22 GMT

taufeeq is good player, technicaly sound. and he is one the pakistani batsmen who hv good record against south africa. i hope he will join the playing 11 in 2nd test...

ZAB2121
on January 30, 2013, 12:20 GMT

@Stark62 AFAIK Haris is a T20 batsman but in any case you cant compare his recent CLT20 inning with Asad test innings.

Whatever the outcome of SA test series, we should stick to our current top and middle order for atleast 2-3 years. Currently we have a good mixture of newcomers (Azhar, Nasir and Asad) with experienced (Misbah, Younis and Hafeez) and we should let this combination go for few years till we find good talent from our domestic to replace Misbah, Younis and Hafeez.

At the same time I was never a fan of Sarfaraz the wicket keeper but it seems like he is very hard working guy and has improved alot in recent times. Watching his inning in Asia Cup he looked good plus he performed well in warm up, not sure what he scored in domestic though. But in case he is a good wicket keeper than Akmals.

on January 30, 2013, 12:11 GMT

all pakistan supporters are happy with 250. That means you super human bowlers must restrict SA to less. This I want to see.

haq33
on January 30, 2013, 12:09 GMT

Dear fast track bully, yes, not good enough to beat RSA in my opinion also but nevertheless, this team's average bowling and below average batting still managed to put India back in its rightful place.

RiphatSatti1
on January 30, 2013, 12:08 GMT

Pakistan is team of serprise , it is not easy for SA to fase the quality fast bowling and suplended spin bowling of Pakistan. we are waiting for a good contest in all format of game.

avas
on January 30, 2013, 12:01 GMT

the previous World No. 1 England found Pakistan really difficult to handle, lets see what happens in SA

Engr.TahirShah
on January 30, 2013, 11:48 GMT

Taufeeq has a very good temprament for tests and he can stay on wicket for a long time, though he is not the best of stroke maker, but mighty effective. Nasir Jamshed should have played nevertheless. There was a case of playing Nasir, Taufeeq and Hafeez with the former coming at no. 3. Get well soon Taufeeq. Pakistan may need your services.

Fast_Track_Bully
on January 30, 2013, 11:33 GMT

How can Pakistan win a test series in SA with this average bowling and below average batting and poor fielding!

matchfixerpkn
on January 30, 2013, 11:01 GMT

hmm..so one by one escaping the fast threat from morkel and co. ????
if so..they shoiuld not allow in any future...
one can remember how in last australia tour thre was a fight in batting line up to go down the order ..and no body want to bat at no. 3 ...

Stark62
on January 30, 2013, 11:01 GMT

If Taufeeq isn't going to play and Nasir is going to open, then Harris Sohail must play @ number 6 because he is far superior to Shafiq and he recently made a half-century in SA conditions, during the CL-T20 for Sialkot.

davidatlas999
on January 30, 2013, 10:44 GMT

He is a very good player not great one but doing good as in opener if he get fit may be we play with nasir and hem as opener.though time coming up pakistan play well and please dont give away your wickets on crazy strokes.just get to 250+ mark in every innings if you lose from then no problem just fight hard and make hard sa to win.
We dont want from you that bash sa all over the park just play a good game of cricket.

on January 30, 2013, 10:37 GMT

Get well soon
Good Luck jamshid and Pakistan

nathangonmad
on January 30, 2013, 10:36 GMT

Was wondering how Pakistan were going to squeeze in the young talent Jamshed in. Unlucky on Taufeeq's part though.

kangir
on January 30, 2013, 10:35 GMT

Were they seriously not thinking of playing Nasir Jamshed..they must be kidding me !!

ahsanjabbar
on January 30, 2013, 10:33 GMT

with current teams;
the result:
Pakistan 2-1.
only one thing is required for Pakistan's win; Misbah's Captaincy.
(Imran won the WC with a much weaker side in Australia.)
Otherwise:
0-2 to SA.

Jujal
on January 30, 2013, 10:29 GMT

Wow :) thats a good sign for SA

javed.agrawala
on January 31, 2013, 7:41 GMT

Its sad to see things panning out between the Pakistani and the Indian supporters. Its really about cricket and a good contest between Pakistan and South Africa and the whole world would like a good test series. If anything other takes place then it will be Pakistan at the receiving end... likely! I cant see Pakistan thrashing the Saffers; a 1-2 defeat for Pakistan would be a reasonable outcome too if the matches turn out to be competitive.

India has a better batting line-up to Pakistan's and that is to be accepted. Actually to be honest being better than Pakistan in batting is not really high praise. Pakistan's bowling is very good but getting the Saffers out is another proposition.

Why is there a need to belittle each other? Can't we delight in the successes of our neighbours? The sordid past need not be brought up particularly if the idea is not to learn but smirk. I want cricket to be a winner and for the two countries to improve their weaker areas fast!

Looking to peace!

Jujal
on January 30, 2013, 10:29 GMT

Wow :) thats a good sign for SA

ahsanjabbar
on January 30, 2013, 10:33 GMT

with current teams;
the result:
Pakistan 2-1.
only one thing is required for Pakistan's win; Misbah's Captaincy.
(Imran won the WC with a much weaker side in Australia.)
Otherwise:
0-2 to SA.

kangir
on January 30, 2013, 10:35 GMT

Were they seriously not thinking of playing Nasir Jamshed..they must be kidding me !!

nathangonmad
on January 30, 2013, 10:36 GMT

Was wondering how Pakistan were going to squeeze in the young talent Jamshed in. Unlucky on Taufeeq's part though.

on January 30, 2013, 10:37 GMT

Get well soon
Good Luck jamshid and Pakistan

davidatlas999
on January 30, 2013, 10:44 GMT

He is a very good player not great one but doing good as in opener if he get fit may be we play with nasir and hem as opener.though time coming up pakistan play well and please dont give away your wickets on crazy strokes.just get to 250+ mark in every innings if you lose from then no problem just fight hard and make hard sa to win.
We dont want from you that bash sa all over the park just play a good game of cricket.

Stark62
on January 30, 2013, 11:01 GMT

If Taufeeq isn't going to play and Nasir is going to open, then Harris Sohail must play @ number 6 because he is far superior to Shafiq and he recently made a half-century in SA conditions, during the CL-T20 for Sialkot.

matchfixerpkn
on January 30, 2013, 11:01 GMT

hmm..so one by one escaping the fast threat from morkel and co. ????
if so..they shoiuld not allow in any future...
one can remember how in last australia tour thre was a fight in batting line up to go down the order ..and no body want to bat at no. 3 ...

Fast_Track_Bully
on January 30, 2013, 11:33 GMT

How can Pakistan win a test series in SA with this average bowling and below average batting and poor fielding!

Engr.TahirShah
on January 30, 2013, 11:48 GMT

Taufeeq has a very good temprament for tests and he can stay on wicket for a long time, though he is not the best of stroke maker, but mighty effective. Nasir Jamshed should have played nevertheless. There was a case of playing Nasir, Taufeeq and Hafeez with the former coming at no. 3. Get well soon Taufeeq. Pakistan may need your services.